Final Rookie Minicamp Thoughts
The Miami Dolphins got their first on-field look at their new class of rookies this past weekend, though the workouts were closed to the media.
Because of that, it's difficult — make that impossible — to say who looked good and not so good among the draft picks, undrafted free agents and tryouts on hand. Then again, it's not like the minicamp ever offers a true evaluation because almost invariably speedy draft picks look fast in minicamp and strong draft picks look strong.
Because the media wasn't allowed, the takeaways from the weekend came mostly from the Zoom media session that featured all seven draft picks and four of the five undrafted free agents.
So here were some of the highlights there, along with some analysis:
-- With first-round pick Jaylen Waddle, the big thing was him signing his contract before the first practice. While it's obviously nice to get it out of the way, it's not like rookie holdouts are much of an issue anymore. The last time a Dolphins first-round pick missed even a day of training camp was in 2012 when Ryan Tannehill missed the first couple of practices before signing. The last time a Dolphins first-round pick didn't sign his rookie contract until August was in 2006 (Jason Allen) and the last time that didn't happen until September was in 1989 when Sammie Smith actually missed the season opener because he still wasn't under contract.
-- Waddle's comment about Tua Tagovailoa's leadership qualities got a lot of play, but did anyone really expect him to say when he was asked, "What makes Tua a good leader?" Understand, this isn't meant to question Tua's leadership skills in any way, shape or form, but just to provide context and caution against such comments being blown out of proportion.
-- With fellow first-round selection Jaelan Phillips, the main topic was him being listed at linebacker on the roster. But then the first question in his Zoom session was about a drill he did that the Dolphins put out on their social media feeds. And that's what Phillips said about it: “That’s the six-point drill. That’s just kind of like the perennial D-line drill." D-line drill. Linebacker, defensive end, Phillips more than likely will end up being used at each spot by the Dolphins because his skill set provides him with the ability to play either position depending on what Brian Flores and Josh Boyer want. The truth is Phillips is an edge defender. But there's no such designation on the roster, so Phillips is listed as a linebacker. It reminds us of last year and Shaq Lawson, who was listed as a DE on the roster but then would show up as an OLB in the gamebook.
-- Second-round pick Liam Eichenberg revealed that he's taken on his football practice look, which means shaving his head and growing his beard. The question come training camp is whether that beard ever will reach Ryan Fitzpatrick status. From an on-field standpoint, Eichenberg reiterated his stance that he's willing to play anywhere on the offensive line to help the team. And exactly where he'll line up come training camp is going to be interesting to follow.
-- Third-round pick Hunter Long revealed his experience in playing in both a run-oriented offense and a passing attack just over the past two seasons. That most definitely would explain how he went from 28 catches (just one off the team lead) in 2019 to a team-high 57 last year. This also means that Long has experience as a blocker, even though most scouts would say that's not a strong point in his game.
-- As a final thought, we'd go back to second-round pick Jevon Holland's interview and writers pointing out he used the word "absorb" eight times. Yep, that's what this weekend was for. It was an introduction meant as much for the rookies to get a feel for their new reality as anything else. Seventh-round pick Larnel Coleman explained it in relating what it was that Brian Flores told the rookies: “He told us that this is a real learning weekend. Make sure you are in your playbook, especially getting used to the weather down here and everything. Just making sure that we come out of this weekend healthy and that we come out better in terms of knowing the playbook and everything. That’s really what it was.”
